Isaac Newton and Housework, or Who am I to Argue with the Law?

A body at rest tends to stay at rest; a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

This is a common paraphrasing of Newton's First Law of Motion, which actually states: "The velocity of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by an external force."

Who knew that physics could so easily explain why I would rather lie under my warm covers, reading, than clean house? And to think Physics was my least favorite subject (PE ran a close second...)

The Most Amazing Thing EVER

I mean, it's a miracle! I mopped!

I've never been big on mopping. I don't mind vacuuming, and I'll spot clean, Swiffer, etc - but dragging out that mop and bucket, with all that toting and pushing and pulling, and it seemed like I was just kind of moving dirty water around, because no matter what I used, or how many times I mopped, the bucket water never came up clean. I blamed all the foot traffic, the dogs, the old linoleum, and yes, my lay, slovenly housekeeping ways. Plus, I always ended up with a 2-day backache. So yeah, I didn't mop often around here.

But then....it was a slow day at work, and we were discussing mopping.

Like I said, a slow day.

And my friend Ruth told me about this amazing creation: The Hoover FloorMate.

This thing is amazing. It vacuums, and it is the strongest, best vacuum for floors I have ever used. Unlike my otherwise beloved Oreck, this vacuum doesn't miss a thing - stray dog hair tumbleweeds no longer blow across the floor, caught on an updraft created from the vacuum itself. As far as I can tell, the FloorMate is 100% suction - no air blowing around. So all the crumbs, sand, beads (oops), dog hair, grass - all gets sucked up into the tank, which you just pull out and empty.

And it is lightweight. And easily maneuverable.

And the FloorMate mops. And by mops, I mean it scrubs. There is a cleanser tank that you fill with a mix of cleanser and hot water. You make regular vacuuming motions, press a button, and the cleanser comes out, and the brushes scrub, and it sucks up the dirty water, so it won't let you spread dirty water around the floor. No backbreaking bending, pushing, pulling; no heavy buckets of dirty water to lift. When the dirty water tank is full, just empty it, and keep going.

See how easy this paid Hoover model makes it look?  That's not Photoshop! It really IS that easy.

I have a BIG kitchen, and I had let the floor get really dirty, what with my mopping aversion, so it took me 2 tank fills & empties to get the entire kitchen done, but it was so easy, and my floor is SO clean. And no sore back, no sore muscles - genius!

And it will even DRY the floor if you want - just switch the selector to DRY, and go back over where you just mopped. I tried it, but it seemed like a waste of time in the kitchen. However - when I tackle the hardwood floors next weekend, I will definitely use the "dry" function.

This is, as usual, a totally unpaid endorsement. But my FloorMate made what used to be a huge dreadful chore into a breeze. More time for beading!

Thanks, Hoover!

Back to beading now.